Best Buy cutting prices to draw holiday shoppers

Best Buy Co. is discounting a number of its electronics items this Friday and Saturday, hoping to snag holiday shoppers early as the competition heats up among retailers.

The chain said Thursday that it will cut prices both in-store and online for brands including BlackBerry, HP, Verizon, T-Mobile, Sony, Insignia, HP and Maytag.

"It's all about the customer this year, and we're listening to what they want," Drew Panayiotou, senior vice president of U.S. marketing, said in a statement.

Best Buy's announcement comes on the same day that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it will offer free shipping on nearly 60,000 online items — with no minimum purchase requirement — through Dec. 20. Kmart, owned by Sears Holdings Corp., also said Thursday that it will let customers who buy items online pick up their purchases on the same day at more than 600 locations.

The flurry of retail announcements come just over two weeks before Black Friday, which is typically viewed as the official kickoff of the holiday shopping season.

Best Buy Co. is discounting a number of its electronics items this Friday and Saturday, hoping to snag holiday shoppers early as the competition heats up among retailers.The chain said Thursday that it will cut prices both in-store and online for brands including BlackBerry, HP, Verizon,...